Tales from a nature-loving, German Shepherd-raising, homeschooling, Waldorf-inspired, Christian family.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Manatee Magic!

I'm just going to leave these here with the forward that this was one of the most magical mornings of my life. From the exceptional customer service (thank you Crystal River Watersports) to the beautiful scenery and the majestic manatees, I will never forget our day.

(watching the safety video-- for OUR safety, but mainly for the safety of the manatees)

all geared up and ready to rock and roll!

Since we had four people in our party, we ended up with a private guide and captain. Talk about AWESOME!!

Alex encounters a manatee. (The following photos were not taken by me, but by Brit, our guide. The CRW staff bring an underwater digital camera and document your encounter!!!! I was so happy and totally willing to pay the reasonable charge for a USB of our photos!)

Justin was a bit nervous, and didn't quite 'get' how to use the snorkel, but there was a three year old manatee calf who seemed to just know he was a little guy, and was so interested in playing and getting belly rubs from him!

There she is-- how sweet!!

Rolling over for belly rubs-- Rorie and Alex got to play too!

There's Mama and baby--

The kids got tired, and I was ready to escort them back to the boat so Rorie could keep swimming, but our guide volunteered to take them back for me. I was shocked and so grateful that she and Cpt. Katie got them changed, dried and filled with hot chocolate so Rorie and I could swim a little longer.

After the kids went back an even SMALLER baby came up and was curious about us. Mama made sure to check us out first, and once she got a few pats she was content to hang back in the distance while her calf explored these strange yellow and black things that were floating in his spring.

After our encounter-- smiles all around!!! What an AWESOME morning learning about and visiting one of God's incredible creatures!